False arguments about unified rules

That was meant to have a question mark after it, but I don't think you can edit thread titles

Whenever the topic of rules sets are debated on here, it is sometimes argued that it is nonsensical to modify rules for any reason (including reasons aimed at promoting fighter safety) because this weakens the status of the sport of MMA as no other accepted sports has variations in this rule.

However in football (soccer to the Americans and some people in the UK over 50) we have 5 a side, 6 aside, 7 aside, 9 aside and 11 aside games and in youth football ( I don't know about the adult game) different leagues and different tournaments have all kinds of variations such as;

Kick ins instead of thrown ins
Keepers have to do goal kicks out of their hands
Goalkeeper areas that go from touch line to touch line
No penalties; only free kicks
Peanlties only given if the foul is in the goal area and parallel to the goal mouth

So if such an established sport can have such variations why should an MMA promoter get stick because s/he decided for example to ban heel hooks on the grounds of fighter safety?

I know some people will come back with all kinds of distinctions about adult and youth games but when I was a kid there was either 5 a side or 11 a side football and if you played 11 a siide at any age it was 45 mins each way on a full size pitch. I will accept that 5 a side is a completely different game but some of the other variations are just bastardisations of the 11 a side game

Last edited by Shaolin Exile; 13-04-2013 at 06:57 PM.

Any opinions I express on this forum are entirely personal opinions and it should not be assumed that they reflect the official view of any organisations I am connected with

Difference between football and mma is evident - any rule changes wouldnt generally affect the health or safety of the players- unless soccer kicks to the face were allowed in "soccer" or football as it should be known!

Knee's to a grounded opponent - as much as I would love to see them back, I also understand how vicious they look and whilst MMA is still in a growth period and educating people that its not just CAYGE FIYTIN, then I also understand why some are hesitant to bring them back. Give it 20 years from now and the sport will be surpassing boxing with some luck (if not sooner) then maybe once its ingrained it will be a lot easier to amend.

Also remember its a new sport, football has been around forever as have most sports, MMA is in a unique place where its still frowned upon by the ignorant masses but slowly is getting over to them, other sports dont really have this issue.

Actually Evzy I'm arguing from the opposite direction. I've always argued against soccer kicks and knees to the head of a downed opponent for safety reasons. My main point is that some promoters want rule sets which are safer that unifed rules. I see unified rules as a minimum standard for safety but surely anything which increases safety has to be hard to argue with

Last edited by Shaolin Exile; 13-04-2013 at 07:05 PM.

Any opinions I express on this forum are entirely personal opinions and it should not be assumed that they reflect the official view of any organisations I am connected with

In the point you are making, I suppose its up to the promoter but then.....if everyone isn't singing off the same hymn sheet its going to be harder to get it mainstream in so much as there is nothing worse than explaining to a mate why they are having a UK1 fight in a cage and the difference when they have come to mine to watch MMA... Its a bit like I suppose using the football analogy, all the main leagues in europe etc use the same rule set, but if you go down into the small 5 a side leagues etc it will differ, but anyone tuning in to watch football generally will watch the main leagues, so the uniform ruleset makes it easier to just pick a game and go with it.

In short, if you want to play the big boys game, follow the big boy rules. If you want to play a variation, its clear to all concerned prior to kick off - unlike a UK1 fight when they are wearing same gloves, gear etc in a cage... There always needs to be a clear cut distinction otherwise shit is gonna get blurred.

No head shot matches should be restricted to anybody with a disability or under 18s There is no need for a serious fighter to use that rule set if they don't like head shots its fair play there are plenty of grappling events to keep them happy plus with no head shots its hardly mixed martial arts.

To make MMA as safe as possible they could bring in "non contact MMA".

Shadow boxing, sprawls, demonstration of duck walk/ drop step technique, number of armbar swings in a minute, GNP on a bag, shrimping, wall walking, all these things could be played out by both fighters, in separate cages if needs be to ensure optimum safety. Not only will every participant be crowned a champion and given a belt at the end but only a single medic will need to be employed - such is the safety of modern MMA.